Shoe upper moulding and heel-seat lasting machines



C. R. CERF Sept. 21, 1965 SHOE UPPER MOULDING AND HEEL-SEAT LASTING MACHINES Filed March 7, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

6722x4 64? Ceaj Sept. 21, 1965 c. R. CERF 3,206,779

SHOE UPPER MOULDING AND HEEL-SEAT LASTING MACHINES Filed March 7. 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR ATTORNEYS IIIIIIIIT Sept. 21, 1965 c. R. CERF 3,206,779

SHOE UPPER MOULDING AND HEEL-SEAT LASTING MACHINES Filed March 7, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I 4 I,'\\ I E Q W z 03 1 a /7 Z i W zz v if .25 t xi 6 i Z a Z a l g E i O INVENTOR U5 6iazzdelferyj ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,206,779 SHOE UPPER MOULDING AND HEEL-SEAT LASTING MACHINES Claude R. Cerf, Paris, France, assignor to Etablissements Mecanoca, Paris, France, a company of France Filed Mar. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 263,607 Claims priority, application France, Mar. 15, 1962,

891,130 7 Claims. (Cl. 12--53.5)

Various machines known are adapted to perform, by distinct operations, the stiffener rough moulding and the heel-seal lasting, this latter operation being performed by various combinations comprising heated or non heated metal plates. These machines use either rigid counters or stitfeners, or stifleners including, for instance, cellulosic material, rendered temporarily flexible, in view of their shaping, by adding a convenient solvent.

According to another method, due to the development of thermo-setting material for the manufacture of counters, the heel-seat lasting is effected by the pre-moulding by means of machines comprising metalic heating dies, on which the rear portion of the shoe upper is strongly pressed through the action of a metal or of a flexible counter-die. This method, however, does not exclude the necessity of the heel-seat lasting proper, which represents additional handling operations. It also requires the use of a great number of dies, adapted to various shapes and sizes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a shoemaking machine which does not present the above draw-backs. In the machine according to the invention, for shoe stiffener moulding and heel-seat lasting, as well as for shoe pre-moulding and pre-heel-seat lasting, the metal last which serves as an inner die may be substituted by the last proper on which the shoe upper has been positioned in view of the various shoe manufacturing operations.

. According to a further important feature of the invention, the outer or counter-die comprises a specially shaped cushion assembly, fitted with a resilient diaphragm and containing a compressible fluid which, if required, may be heated, said fluid being either kept constantly inside the cushion assembly, or else may be introduced therein by actuating a valve member. The diaphragm-cushion-fluid assembly is known in the following as a helmet.

A further essential feature of the invention is the provision of a linked system formed of a pair of metal plates the motions of which are controlled by the flexible wall of the helmet, and serving to turn over the upper portion lying outside the lastthe so-called assembly marginas well as to pleat it against the insole, thus achieving the heel-seat lasting operation proper. The closing of said plates, as well as the necessary pressure for the pleating or crushing action is provided by said resilient diaphragm of the helmet. The combination of these various members enables an operator to perform simultaneously the two operations which, according to the conventional technique, were eflected in successive steps: the heel-seat moulding and the definite lasting thereof.

The invention will be best understood from the following description and appended drawings, relating to a particular embodiment of the machine, given only by way of a non-limitative example.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a right-hand view of the machine in a resting position, the shoe last being placed on its support.

FIGURE 2 is a right-hand view of a detail of the machine, in operating position.

3,206,779 Patented Sept. 21, 1965 ice FIGURE 3 is a detail view of the helmet assembly.

shown in FIGURES 1 and 2.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional right-hand view of said helmet.

The insole 15 (FIGURE 4) being in position on the last, the upper 33 is positioned (FIGURE 4) and stretched lengthwise, according to the usual methods. The assembly is then inserted into a pre-heating oven (not illustrated), in such a manner that only the rear portion of the shoe and the stiffener 32 (FIGURE 4), i.e. the heel-seat, are subjected to the action of heat. The time of heating varies with the materials employed. The shoe-and-last assembly is drawn out of the oven and put in position on the device according to this invention. The last 1 is then applied on the last pin 2, adjustable in height by means of a screw 3 and nut 4 mounted on a support 5 integral with the framework 6 of the machine. In the front side, the last rests on a toe rest member 2a. The last is blocked by means of the sole holddown 7 integral with a piston 8 moving in a cylinder 9. The down motion of piston 8 is achieved by introducing into the cylinder a compressed fluid, such as air for instance, through a valve member 37 (FIG- URE 1) and duct 34. The valve member is controlled by a lever 30 operated by the knee of the operator. At the end of the stroke, the return motion to its dead center is controlled by acuating in the opposite direction lever 30 and by the action of spring 18 secured to bottom 19 of cylinder 9. After blocking the last, the helmet 10, integral with piston 11 moving inside cylinder 12, is caused to move forward, by applying to said cylinder a fluid under pressure, through a tubing 35 fitted with a valve 36 (FIGURE 1), which is controlled by plunger 31. The forward motion of said piston and, consequently, of the helmet, may be regulated by means of a flowoutput regulating device 38 (FIGURE 1). In its forward motion, the helmet causes the upper to be drawn by means of the lasting plates 16 which are moved towards each other and against the upper and insole by a low pressure fluid introduced between the metal portion and the helmet diaphragm through duct 39 (FIGURE 1). At the stroke end, the piston 11 presses on pin 41 causing valve 40 to open (FIGURE 2), enabling the inflow, through duct 39, into the helmet of high pressure fluid, thus effecting the stiffener rough moulding and the heelseat lasting operations. After a certain time correspond ing to the high pressure moulding, timed by means of a time switch, the helmet empties itself, and recedes under the action of a return spring 20 integral with the cylinder cover 21 and the piston 11.

The particular design of the helmet assembly, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, enables the diaphragm to adapt itself to any shape and profile, and specifically to the base 15 of the last, to provide the pleated portion and to enable the diaphragm to apply onto plates 16. If the upper end and the portion corresponding to the insole and, as the case may be, to the stiffener and the middle-sole, have been coated preliminarily with a suitable paste, these two elements will be rendered perfectly tied to one another on account of the pressure exercized by the helmet, thus providing the heel-seat lasting proper, this being another essential feature of the invention.

The special device 16 comprises two suitably shaped metal plates, pivoted about a pin 22. The opposite ends of the plates pass through holes in two moving sliders 23 and 24, the motion of which is guided by their displacement in the tracks 25 a, 25b formed in the wall of the helmet 10. The holes in sliders 23 and 24 are slightly larger than the external diameter of the platees 16 to allow a small amount of play between the plates 16 and the sliders 23 and 24. So long as the flexible wall 13 is not inflated, the four ends of the plates are biased outwardly by springs 26 as shown in the right half of FIGURE 3. Since when inflated the flexible wall takes the shape of the last where it comes in contact with the last and the adjoining portions of the flexible wall are forced by the fluid pressure towards the last, the plate members pivot at 22 downward and toward each other (left half of FIGURE 3) causing the sliders 23 and 24 to move toward each other against the bias of springs 26. The plate members during this movement are brought into contact with the upper and stiffener and are turned over onto the insole. The accurate mounting of the plate members is unnecessary because of the control by the flexible wall. A locking device including fingers 27 slidable vertically in sliders 27-41 of the helmet, against the action of springs 27-h and resting on rails 28 through rollers 29, prevents the plates from closing until the counter-die has been advanced sufliciently towards the last to cause the sliding fingers 27 controlled by means of rails 28 to unlock the plates retained in the outward position. This is an important feature of the device of the invention, since it automatically prevents the final intervening operation, unless the necessary requirements are preliminarily met.

The shape of sliders 23 and 24 controls simultaneously both the closure of the lasting plates and the downward motion thereof. At the end of the operation, the return springs 26 return the plates to their open position. These plates are located inside the helmet, but outside the diaphragm, in such a manner as to be inserted between the latter and the upper of the shoe, thus enabling the complete lasting of the folded-over portion of the insole, and stressing the marking of the pleat.

What I claim is:

1. A machine for shoe upper moulding and heel-seat lasting comprising in combination a frame, means on said frame for securing a last onto which an upper has been positioned for manufacturing a shoe; a counter-die comprising a rigid wall adapted to encompass the rear portion of said last at a distance therefrom, means for mounting said counter-die on said frame for reciprocatory movement towards and away from said rear portion in the direction of the length of said last; a flexible fluidtight wall secured to said rigid wall, on the side thereof facing said last, for defining a fluid-tight chamber with said rigid wall, means for introducing a fluid under pressure into said chamber; a pair of rigid plate members on said counter-die extending along said flexible wall, said members each having a curved end portion located at a level just above the heel surface of said rear portions, means mounting said curved end portions for pivotal movement together, and each member including a fore portion slidably mounted on said die for reciprocation in directions transverse to the direction of movement of said counter-die, and means for resiliently urging said fore portions of said plate members away from said last, whereby said curved end portions of said members are applied onto the heel surface of said upper when said counter-die is brought towards said last and fluid under pressure is introduced into said chamber.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein means are provided on said frame for locking said fore portions of said plate members in a position away from said last as long as said counter-die has not been advanced into a predetermined position with respect to said last.

3. A machine for shoe upper moulding and heel seat lasting comprising in combination a frame, means on said frame for securing a last onto which an upper has been positioned in view of the manufacture of a shoe; a counter-die comprising a rigid wall having substantially parallel side portions and a back portion adapted to encompass the rear portion of said last at a distance therefrom, means for mounting said counter-die on said frame for reciprocatory movement towards and away from said rear portion in the direction of the length of said last, said side portions being substantially perpendicular to the heel surface of said rear portion; a flexible fluidtight wall secured to said rigid wall, on the side thereof facing said last, for defining a fluid-tight chamber with said rigid wall, means for introducing a fluid under pressure into said chamber; a pair of curved plate members in said counter-die extending along said flexible wall, said members each having a curved rear portion located at a level just above said heel surface, means mounting said curved rear portions by pivotal movement together about an axis substantially perpendicular to said heel surface and each member including a fore portion extending along said side portions respectively, sliding plates connected to each said fore portion respectively, means for guiding said sliding plates onto said side portions for reciprocation in directions transverse to the direction of movement of said counter-die and parallel to said heel surface of said rear portion of said last and means for resiliently urging said fore portions away from said last.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein sliding fingers are mounted on said side portions of said rigid wall transversely with respect to the path of said fore portions and are adapted to be brought onto said path for locking said fore portion in a position away from said last, and means for controlling said fingers and unlocking said fore portions when said counter-die has been approached a predetermined distance to said last.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein said controlling means comprise rails mounted on said frame, rollers on said fingers engaging said rails and spring means for urging said rollers in contact with said rails.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein said means for mounting said counter-die on said frame includes means for controlling said means for introducing fluid under pressure into said chamber.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein said means for securing a last on said frame comprise lastsupporting members and a last prop adjustably mounted on said frame and adapted to lock said last onto said last-suporting members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,563,096 11/25 MacDonald 128.1 X 1,850,999 3/32 Baynard 12-535 X 2,392,315 1/46 Davis 12-1 2,406,738 9/46 Brophy 1253.5 2,915,765 12/59 Lauretti 1254.3 2,983,934 5/61 Bertrand 1253.5 X 3,007,182 11/61 Lauretti 12-53.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 472,322 3/51 Canada.

' JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A MACHINE FOR SHOE UPPER MOULDING AND HEEL-SEAT LASTING COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A FRAME, MEANS ON SAID FRAME FOR SECURING A LAST ONTO WHICH AN UPPER HAS BEEN POSITIONED FOR MANUFACTURING A SHOE; A COUNTER-DIE COMPRISING A RIGID WALL ADAPTED TO ENCOMPASS THE REAR PORTION OF SAID LAST AT A DISTANCE THEREFROM, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID COUNTER-DIE ON SAID FRAME FOR RECIPROCATORY MOVEMENT TOWARDS AND AWAT FROM SAID REAR PORTION IN THE DIRECTION OF THE LENGTH OF SAID LAST; A FLEXIBLE FLUIDTIGHT WALL SECURED TO SAID RIGID WALL, ON THE SIDE THEREOF FACING SAID LAST, FOR DEFINING A FLUID-TIGHT CHAMBER WITH SAID RIGID WALL, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING A FLUID UNDER PRESSURE INTO SAID CHAMBER; A PAIR OF RIGID PLATE MEMBERS ON SAID COUNTER-DIE EXTENDING ALONG SAID FLEXIBLE WALL, SAID MEMBERS EACH HAVING A CURVED END PORTION LOCATED AT A LEVEL JUST ABOVE THE HEEL SURFACEOF SAID REAR PORTIONS, MEANS MOUNTING SAID CURVED END PORTINS FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT TOGETHER, AND EACH MEMBER INCLUDING A FORE PORTION SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID DIE FOR RECIPROCATION IN DIRECTIONS TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID COUNTER-DIE, AND MEANS FOR RESILIENTLY URGING SAID FOR PORTIONS OF SAID PLATE MEMBERS AWAY FROM SAID LAST, WHEREBY SAID CURVED END PORTIONS OF SAID MEMBERS ARE APPLIED ONTO THE HEEL SURFACE OF SAID UPPER WHEN SAID COUNTER-DIE IS BROUGHT TOWARDS SAID LAST AND FLUID UNDER PRESSURE IS INTRODUCED INTO SAID CHAMBER. 